On Leather Wings
by Snake Doctor
Summary: Two amateur pokémon trainers enter a nation-wide fighting tournament and set out on the adventure of their lives, fighting against rival trainers, wild pokémon, and even each other! But when their journey takes an unexpected detour, they find themselves the targets of a criminal organization and uncover a horrific experiment that threatens all of Kanto! Rated T for actual violence.
1. Pallet Town: Fight Night

Pokémon!

No one knows the origins of these creatures. Some have theorized they can be traced back to a single common ancestor. Others say they came from the far reaches of space on a meteor that crashed into our world millennia ago. But wherever they came from, and wherever they are found, no one can argue that everyone loves pokémon.

People keep pokémon for pets. People keep pokémon for labor. And some even pit them against each other in fighting tournaments across the world, using their unique abilities and strengths to compete for glory and money. These people are called pokémon trainers. The best pokémon trainers are lifted to celebrity heights and showered with praise and sponsorships to help them strive to be the best of the best, to be given the title Champion of their home regions. To do so trainers must sign up to enter their local Pokémon League and travel across the regions to gain badges from eight gyms in that region. Only then will they be given the right to fight against the Elite Four, the best trainers next to the Champion, and then the Champion themselves to compete for the crown.

To be a pokémon trainer is an achievement shared by many. To be a Champion is an honor bestowed upon few. And so our story starts with one man, one woman, a battle for their careers, and the two aspiring trainers watching the show from the comfort of home.

They had torchic wings. They had chips, dip, and salsa. And they had a completely functional satellite dish with signal clear as fresh made glass. Mark and Rachel were set for a night of high quality entertainment brought to them by the Pokémon League and a loving mother's paycheck.

"Welcome, battle fans, to this year's Pokémon League Tournament!" The announcer took a deep breath and bellowed out in that motivating voice his fans so loved. "As always, this is your host, Pete Live, and we've got a show for you today!"

"And here we go."

Rachel Dyer, age fourteen, was an attractive teenage girl with shoulder-length brown hair and piercing green eyes. Eyes that could take in her surroundings in an instant and the good instincts to act on what she saw. Rachel always had a laugh for something and a word for something else. She was easy to like, hard to hate, and fun to be around. Or so Mark thought. Rachel was his closest friend.

Mark Richardson, age fifteen, had short black hair and blue eyes. He was tall and muscular, but not overly handsome, despite what he liked to think. What he was, however, was a pokémon battle fan and an excitable young boy who wanted to watch his favorite pokémon trainer and personal hero complete his Elite Four challenge and become the Pokémon League Champion of the Kanto region. Mark lived alone with his mother; Rachel lived with her father in the house two blocks down from him. They had been friends since diapers and inseparable since grade school.

The crowd cheered as the two combatants stepped into the arena. Despite the dramatic introduction, the battle ring was nothing special. It looked like a basketball court without the hoops or goal lines. Your normal, average pokémon battle arena set for a not-so-normal pokémon battle. "When we last left off, our intrepid challenger had scored a tight win against the powerful Bruno! And what a fight it was, ladies and gentlemen, but our upcoming Champion pulled it off." Pete paused for dramatic flair. "And here he comes! Introducing our competitor, the owner of the Viridian City Gym, Gym Leader Giovanni!"

The crowd roared as a broad-shouldered man stepped into the stage lights. He had a medium height and a receding hairline brought on from age, but everyone knew of Giovanni's mastery of pokémon battles. The Viridian City Gym was known throughout Kanto as being the top in the region.

Giovanni's two young fans from the neighboring Pallet Town had had a very exciting weekend. Giovanni had formally stated his challenge that previous Friday and, after an evening of ceremony, began his fight with a flying-type master named Falkner. Mark had been especially nervous of this match, for Giovanni was a ground-type master, which was at a distinct disadvantage against Falkner's pokémon. But Giovanni, with his nidorino and nidorina, opted to fight Falkner in a two-on-two double battle and won with an unexpected Stone Edge and Thunderbolt combination. His victory over Falkner secured him a spot on the Elite Four, but as Giovanni was going for the title of Champion, he chose to move on to challenge the ice-type master Lorelei. He chose again to go two-on-two against Lorelei, and won in a similar fashion. His next battle with Bruno, a fighting-type master, was won with ease in a one-on-one fight between Bruno's prized hitmonlee and Giovanni's dugtrio. Tonight, this Sunday, Giovanni was engaging the ghost-type master Agatha in a three-on-three single battle. If he won tonight, there would be a week of hype to keep the viewers pumped up and ready for the final battle against Champion Lance the following weekend.

Rachel reached across Mark to grab the chip bowl beside him. Mark munched on one of the few remaining torchic wings. "This is gonna be good."

"Absolutely."

The announcer continued his speech. "Today he must face the venomous Agatha and her party of ghostly and horrifying pokémon!" Across from Giovanni stood an elderly woman, hunched over and supported by a cane. But like her opponent, Agatha's age was nowhere near a hindrance. Pokemon and master made it a rule to maintain their fighting edge.

"Trainers, call out your pokémon!"

The two trainers tossed out their pokeballs, barely visible to the cameras, and called out their chosen fighters. Agatha had gone with her usual opener, a gengar, while Giovanni had opted for his rather fierce-looking nidorino again. The nidorino roared out a challenge at the gengar, who merely laughed and faded from sight.

"Let this battle begin!"

"Game time!" Rachel cheered.

Giovanni immediately went on the offensive. "Poison Sting!"

The nidorino shook its body and sent glowing purple stingers flying in every direction. Agatha nodded grimly as the stingers struck her gengar, flushing it out of hiding. It was a good opener on Giovanni's part. A ghost-type's favorite trick was to fade into the air and sneak up on opponents, something experienced trainers like Giovanni knew. But a gengar did far more than just sneak around. "Retaliate! Shadow Ball!"

Her gengar formed a glowing black ball of energy and tossed it at the nidorino. The pokémon dodged it neatly and charged forward as Giovanni shouted out, "Shadow Claw!"

The gengar was again too slow to dodge. The nidorino's front feet glowed with a black light as its attack struck home. The gengar winced, and Mark grinned. The ghost-type was hurt.

"Shadow Ball!"

But Giovanni and his nidorino had erred. Agatha and her gengar were playing them for suckers, drawing their opponents in for a crafty point-blank shot. The ball of energy struck the nidorino right in its horned face, and the nidorino roared with pain. He bounced back to the ground but recovered quickly, rolling on all four legs and glaring daggers at the gengar. The gengar just grinned at him and disappeared into the air once more.

"Come back!"

Giovanni drew a pokéball from his waist and pointed it at the nidorino. A red beam shot from the ball and struck his wounded partner, but Mark wasn't worried. Giovanni was simply recovering his nidorino and giving it time to rest and recover a little. As Giovanni placed the ball back on his belt, his other hand was already drawing another.

"And Giovanni's nidorino is sent on a hasty retreat from the enemy gengar's well-aimed Shadow Ball," Phil Live remarked. "What will Giovanni's next pokémon be?"

In a bright flash of light came Giovanni's second pokémon. This one looked like a furry tube sock with legs. It had dark and inquisitive eyes that quickly glanced around for its enemy. The pokémon seemed confused, for it could not find the gengar. But Giovanni didn't look worried.

Mark, however, was just as confused at Giovanni's partner. "What's that pokémon called?" Rachel just shrugged.

"An excellent choice, Giovanni!" Pete screamed. "Folks, our future Champion has just chosen a furret, a pokémon hailing all the way from our neighboring Johto. And it is a normal-type, which makes it completely immune to that nasty little Shadow Ball. Well played, indeed!"

Agatha didn't seem worried. She obviously had forseen something like this. "Focus Blast!"

"Sucker Punch!"

The furret closed its eyes and, almost like magic, dodged another incoming ball of energy. It raced straight for where it came from and slammed its front paws down on thin air. But it must have hit something, for their was a great scream that made even Mark and Rachel wince. The gengar reappeared, but its eyes were closed and it no longer had that spooky grin on its face. It had been hit hard.

"Return!" The gengar gloated back into its pokéball. Agatha, like Giovanni, thought it prudent to keep the weakened pokémon out of the fight for a while. She called forth her second fighter. "Mag!"

Her next pokémon, in Mark's eyes, looked like an evil purple hat. From underneath the "hat's" bill Mark could see glowing yellow eyes and a billowing, cloth-like body of the same purple shade. Phil helpfully informed the audience and viewers at home that Agatha's new pokémon was called a mismagius, originally discovered in the faraway Sinnoh region but believed to have originated from Johto like Giovanni's furret.

"Aaaaaaaaaand go!"

"Furret, use Sucker Punch!"

"Mag, Reflect!"

Furret's Sucker Punch bounced harmlessly off of a reflective barrier Mag summoned from thin air. Furret landed softly and at Giovanni's command of "Amnesia!" curled into a ball of fur. Agatha, clearly anticipating another switch, could only watch as Mag's Shadow Ball was absorbed by Furret's fur.

"Baton Pass!"

Furret went running back to Giovanni's side. Where it lay was a simple white rod of an unknown material; neither Rachel nor Mark could tell through the TV screen. Giovanni placed Furret back in its pokéball and drew a third one.

Mark quickly looked to Rachel. She was a bigger pokémon fan than he was, and thus knew more about battle than he did. "What's he doing?"

"Amnesia is a move that raises a pokémon's defense against moves like Shadow Ball and Focus Blast, " Rachel replied. "Baton Pass takes a pokémon's stat changes and gives them to a different pokémon. Giovanni is swapping Furret out for something else to fight Agatha's mismagius with."

"Oh." Mark nodded in agreement with Rachel's comments. Though she was no trainer herself, her mother had been a skilled trainer in her day and passed some knowledge down to her daughter. Mark went back to watching the screen as Giovanni's third and final pokémon made it's appearance. The crowd started cheering, and Mark felt a grin spread across his face. Giovanni had called out his trump card.

"It's Maverick the rhydon!" Phil roared. "At long last! I personally was hoping to see Maverick in the battle with Bruno but I guess Giovanni was nervous about his rock-typing. Agatha better watch out!"

"That's game," Mark exclaimed.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Rachel muttered. "Mismagius are immuned to ground attacks, so unless Giovanni taught Maverick something new since that last gym challenge he had, he's got exactly one attack to hit her with."

"And all his attacks are physical too," Mark realized, "so Mag's Reflect can protect her."

"Thunder Wave!" The attack was Agatha's. Agatha had known full well Giovanni was a ground-master but she, unlike Phil, did not expect Giovanni's best-known fighter. Indeed, she was expecting Giovanni's nidorina, which she felt was much more equipped to handle her ghosts. But deep down, Agatha was flattered. Giovanni must have expected trouble to bring out Maverick.

The Thunder Wave, of course, did nothing to Maverick. Ground types were all immune to electric attacks like Thunder Wave. Agatha decided to make the first move. "Shadow Ball!"

"Curse!"

"Oh, Giovanni is still boosting his defenses!" Phil continued on with his commentary as Maverick ducked his head and deflected the Shadow Ball with his horn. "Smart, very smart. He must be waiting out Mag's Reflect, which if my count is right should only be up for...two more minutes? Yes, just two short minutes until - "

"Pain Split!"

Maverick shrugged off that attack as well. Giovanni retaliated. "Roar!"

Mag's eyes widened in fear as Maverick let out an ear-shattering roar of fury. The ghost-type practically flew back behind her master, who simply recalled the terrified pokémon and sent out her own third party member. "Kro!" she called.

This new pokémon was an obvious flying-type with two large wings and a mouth that took up most of its body. When Mark noticed the two smaller foot-like wings flapping underneath the main wings, he recognized the pokémon as a crobat. Giovanni was quick to respond. "Stone Edge!"

"Toxic!"

Maverick was a bit too slow to react, and received a face-full of toxic slime for his trouble. But Maverick wasn't daunted. Five blue rings of light formed around his massive body. Those rings began to glow white, and then transformed into large chunks of rock. Maverick's eyes glowed gold, and the rocks shot after Kro the crobat. Kro tried to fly away from them, but the rocks miraculouly followed him and pursued him around the arena. They finally made contact, and then Kro was knocked out. The audience cheered.

"Score!" Pete sounded just as ecstatic as the crowd. "What did I tell you, folks?! First KO goes to Giovanni of Viridian City!"

"But," Agatha commented calmly, "it's only the last one that counts."

"Of course, Lady Agatha." Giovanni gave her a short bow, ever the sportsman. Mark thought he looked pretty classy in that suit of his. Rachel thought he looked downright sexy. "The next move is yours."

"Hexx!"

Her next pokémon was the gengar, apparently named Hexx. Mark found it oddly appropriate. He and Rachel were glued to their seats, waiting on Giovanni to make his next KO.

"Hexx, Pain Split!"

"Maverick, Stone Edge!"

Hexx phased into the surrounding air and neatly dodged Maverick's Stone Edge. He then made a gesture at Maverick, and the rhydon roared. This time, though, Maverick was in pain. He also had a purple stain across his face. Giovanni looked furious.

"For those who are unfamiliar with Pain Split," Phil said, "Hexx has just stolen a significant amount of stamina from Maverick and added it to his own. Their stamina is at an equal level at the moment, but Maverick is taking damage from Kro's previous Toxic attack. Maverick is in a bind right now."

Mark snorted. "Nah." But Rachel looked concerned.

Giovanni had Maverick use another Stone Edge. And another. But try as the rhydon might, he just couldn't hit the elusive genger. Hexx had recovered enough to nimbly dodge both attacks. And then…

"Focus Blast!"

The golden ball came out and nailed Maverick in the chest. Maverick rolled over and did not get up.

"And the next KO goes to Agatha. What a disappoinment!" Phil cried. "What will Giovanni do now!"

Giovanni, now red in the face, called back his rhydon and glared down at the ball. His expression shocked Mark, who had only seen the man as calm and collected, sure of every move he made. But this Giovanni was clearly flustered and off-guard.

Out came another pokéball. "Danny! Shadow Claw!"

"Shadow Ball!"

Giovanni's nidorino came charging out. Danny made a beeline for Hexx as the gengar brought his hands in front of him to charge up another Shadow Ball and -

The TV suddenly cut off.

Both kids stared at it.

"No…"

Mark went racing to the TV as Rachel stared at it. He pulled it back from the wall to examine the connections and everything else, begging for it to come back on. "Just when it was getting soooo intense," he moaned.

"Well, that's a shame." Both kids look up towards the bedroom door. In the door way stood Ms. Richardson, holding Mark's remote control.

"Mom, why - "

"Mark, I told you to go to bed early, you don't want to be late tomorrow." Mark's mom gave him a look, an effective counter to any argument he could come up with. "You need to make a good impression for Professor Oak if you want to get a good pokémon!"

"But - "

"No. You spent two whole months begging and begging me to let you quit school and be a pokémon trainer," she said, "You made a commitment, and now you need to take it seriously."

Tomorrow, Mark and Rachel would go by to see Professor Oak, a local pokémon researcher, to acquire his first pokémon. Personally, Mark felt that Oak was the local town coot, but the pokémon communities all swore by the guy. He had created an electronic encyclopedia on every known pokémon in the world, including some thought to be mythical. He also bred pokémon to give out to local aspiring trainers like Rachel and Mark. It was a great oppurtunity, as normally one would have to acquire a first pokémon through trapping it. And the one time Mark had tried that, a pidgey with a Gust attack had blown him ten feet out of a tree. He'd broken an arm.

But that was over a year ago. This was now. Mark would soon start on his journey to become a pokémon trainer, along with his best friend Rachel. Mark had never been more excited in his life. There was no way he was getting any sleep tonight. But, apparently, Mark's mother didn't see it that way. She frowned at him. "Now what would you do if you overslept, and Professor Oak gave all his pokémon away before you woke up?"

"Cry. For a week. Maybe."

Mom was not amused. "Bed. Now."

"Bye, Mark." Rachel hopped off the bed and moved for the door. "I'll be by bright and early, so be awake!"

She politely bid Ms. Richardson a good night and sidestepped around her through the door. Mark's mother followed her to show her out and closed the door behind her, leaving Mark to change and prep for the morning.

* * *

><p>Darkness. Nothing but darkness.<p>

Mark couldn't see. He could barely breathe. He tripped and cried out as he hit the floor. His hands reached out and fumbled for something, anything to help him run from the horror behind him.

_Fear. The dark is fear._

He crawled, crawled on his hands and knees like a newborn. But there was nothing he could do.

_I am darkness. I am fear._

Mark finally got to his feet and tried to run. But his legs wouldn't respond. He couldn't move!

He tried to fight it. But soon, he could not. He had to look. Mark turned around. And there, he saw it. The deep dark, blacker than black, except for one part. One single, glowing orange eye rapidly closing in on him.

_Run._

_Run._

_Run to the dark._

And run he did. Far, as far away from the eye as he could. Mark ran until he woke on the floor in a tangle of sheets, covered in cold sweat and still struggling to escape the nightmare.


	2. Pallet Town: Character Selection

Mark slept fitfully the rest of the night, still freaked out from his nightmare. But, it was only a dream, and pokémon trainers only focus on one dream. So Mark was downstairs at oh-dark-thirty letting out a great big yawn as he munched on a homemade waffle while his mother packed him a small lunch and some last-minute things into his backpack.

"Last chance, Mark."

Mark stifled his yawn. "For what?"

"To stay home." She turned around and stuffed a first aid kit into the top pouch. "Finish school, go to college, have a career with steady pay."

Mark went back to his waffle. "We talked about that already, though."

"I could pay your tuition - "

"Mom."

She sighed and plopped the bag down on the table. Hard. "I know. It's just..."

Mark got up, went to his mother, and gave her a hug. "Yeah. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Marky," she whispered. Ms. Richardson held her son out at arm's length. "You got beat up by a flying-type the size of a flowerpot."

"I remember."

"You be careful."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Don't get lost. Stay on the roads."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Keep your hygiene up."

"Yes, ma'am."

"I mean it, Mark, you come back here smelling like a forest, you're going to work at the pokémon lab until you can afford a GED."

Mark kissed her cheek. "I love you too, Mom."

She hugged him back. "Be the best you can be, Mark. That's all anyone will ever want from you."

Mark kissed her again, shouldered the pack, and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>The sun was still only thinking about rising when Mark got to the spot he was meeting Rachel. He was wearing a red hoody and matching cap to go over his favorite t-shirt and jeans. His bag was full of only essentials for the road. There were plenty of towns to get supplies from. Money might be an issue, but if he won enough battles against people, he'd make enough to earn a living.<p>

"Mark!"

Rachel came running up behind him. "Hey, Rachel, you ready?"

"Yep!" Rachel had a backpack like his, resting comfortably on her back. "I even know which one I want."

Mark paused a second, staring. "Rachel."

"Yeah?"

"You're still wearing church clothes."

Indeed, Rachel had opted for dressing nice versus Mark's casual ensemble. Mark liked to look rugged and tough (even if it rarely worked out that way), whereas Rachel liked looking professional. She wore a blue top over a red skirt, with a white hat and knee-high blue socks. Mark always called her outfits church clothes, where they were ceremonial or not. Normally Rachel responded with a sarcastic remark questioning Mark's childhood rearing, but today she merely stuck out her tongue before walking past him. It was still early, after all.

Mark fell into step next to her. "So which one do you want?"

"I doubt it's the one you want. It's too good for you."

"Uh-huh."

They walked and chatted together, mostly about the pokémon and their plans. Rachel was seriously into battling, and wanted to enter the Pokémon League. Mark liked the idea himself, but he mainly just wanted to travel and see the world. Pallet Town was very small, containing only some stores and houses. Professor Oak's lab was the biggest real estate in town. There was nothing interesting here, which was probably why more pokémon trainers grew up in Pallet Town than anywhere else. Everyone wanted out.

Also, Mark didn't like the idea of competing with Rachel. If he made it to the League, she certainly would too. Though Rachel was only starting as a trainer like him, she had spent most of her childhood nose deep in books about pokémon and pokémon battling. The week prior she told Mark she was already planning out her team for her journey, and was only stuck on the pokémon she started with. While Mark was floundering around chasing down pidgey, Rachel was looking up the easiest way to raise magikarp.

But Mark had to admit, Rachel's competitive attitude was contagious. Mark didn't think he'd be good enough to go toe-to-toe with Rachel, but what he learned from her could be used on others.

By the time they reached the lab, the sun was finally up. Pallet Town was bathed in a red-orange glow, and the autumn air was crisp and energizing. Mark took that as a good sign. Professor Oak's laboratory sat up on top of a hill, surrounded by a gate with a flight of stairs leading to the front door. Professor Oak was the top pokémon researcher of the Kanto region. His lab consisted of a single building that doubled as his house and miles of forest behind it. Professor Oak and his assistants divided their time between studying pokémon and taking care of pokémon belonging to Pallet Town trainers. The lab is powered by a large wind turbine, generating a constant source of energy vital to Professor Oak's research.

Rachel noticed a voice box by the gate and pressed the button. "Hello, Professor Oak?"

After some static, a voice emitted from the box. "Yes, who is it?"

"My name is Rachel - "

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

Rachel blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

Mark moved in front of Rachel to reply. "Boy. And I'm here for a pokémon. I hav an appointment."

"Oh! Yes, do come in!" The gate swung open. "Let yourself in and have a seat in the sitting room. I'll be out shortly."

Rachel glared at Mark. Mark just grinned at her.

They made their way to the front door. Mark tried the knob and saw it was unlocked. He opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Rachel. Oak's sitting room had hardly any furniture in it, containing only a table with four chairs surrounding it, as well as a bookshelf. Mark went to inspect the books, but none of them were terribly interesting. Apparently, someone felt compelled to right a three hundred page book about the swimming patterns of magikarp.

Rachel sat at the table, twiddling her thumbs and looking around the room. She looked nervous. Mark laughed. "What are you so twitchy about?"

Rachel stared at her thumbs. She was sweating slightly. "What if he already gave my pokémon away? We're not the only new trainers, you know." She suddenly gasped. "What if he doesn't want to give me one?"

"Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

Startled, they both turned towards the speaker. Professor Oak stood just outside the room, looking between Mark and Rachel. He seemed confused.

"I was under the impression there was just one of you."

Mark grinned again. "She is with me. I'm a boy. She's a girl."

Oak nodded like Mark had said something important. "Yes, I can see that." He glanced at Rachel. "And you are with him?"

Rachel stood and smoothed out her skirt. "Yes, sir. We had appointments today to get one of the pokémon you offer to new trainers."

Professor Samuel Oak was a middle-aged gentleman with a kind smile. His graying hair and patient temperament told of years of experience. He was dressed in slacks and a lab coat. He blinked once, had a revelation, and smiled. "You two must be Rachel and Mark." Professor Oak shook each of their hands. "As you probably guessed, I am Professor Oak."

"It's an honor, sir." Mark said, trying to be polite. If Rachel was worried they weren't getting pokémon, there was probably a good reason. A little brown nosing could only improve their chances.

"Yes, I do have a rather large amount of fans, don't I?" Oak chuckled. "Would either of you care for some food or drink? It's so early I can't imagine you two had breakfast yet." A man in glasses and a lab coat wheeled in a cart with a plate of cinnamon rolls and three glasses of orange juice on it. "I know I haven't."

Mark and Rachel gratefully accepted the refreshments. After a couple of rolls, Rachel was more relaxed. "So, Professor," she said. "Where are the pokémon?"

"Eager to get started, aren't we?" Oak said. He pulled three pokéballs from his pockets. "Come on out, you three."

A bright light filled the room, and when it faded, the three pokémon were standing on the floor. "Kids, meet Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle."

The first pokémon looked like a cross between a dinosaur and a frog. It was blue with green spots, and walked on all fours. The most distinguishing feature, however, was the flower bulb growing from its back that gave it its name. "This is Bulbasaur," Oak said. "Bulbasaur gets its energy from the plant on its back, and can even use it to attack and defend itself."

The second pokémon was reptilian in appearance. It was orange with a white chest and stomach, and had a small ridge of spines going down its back. "That's Charmander," Oak said. "Charmander like warm and rocky places. In the wild, they are found near active volcanoes. Charmander are known for their ability to breathe fire."

The last pokémon was blue and covered with a large, hard shell. "And here is Squirtle," Oak continued. "Squirtle hide in their shells when in danger, relying on their larger family members for protection. But if pressed, they will squirt the enemy with a powerful jet of foam."

All the pokémon were looking around, gauging their new surroundings. "All three are still very young," Oak said, "and are very impressionable, so with a little patience, they should be easy to raise and care for."

Bulbasaur gave a large yawn and curled up on the floor. Squirtle's gaze darted from Mark to Rachel, regarding both with a big smile. Charmander, however, seemed more interested in the food than anything else. It walked over to the cart and looked up, trying to figure out the best way to grab a roll.

"As you can see, each of them has their own personalities." Oak said. "Charmander is very bold and curious, and loves looking around and getting into things. Squirtle is very sociable and friendly. And Bulbasaur has a bit of a lazy side."

Rachel looked like she was about to jump on the three pokémon. For the moment, she was actually acting girly. "They're all so cute!"

Mark had to agree. They were essentially like human toddlers. These pokémon were new to the world, so possessed an innocence one couldn't help but notice and enjoy. Charmander jumped up and down, trying to see what on this cart smelled so good. Bulbasaur yawned again and walked over to the corner of the room to catch up on some sleep. Squirtle lost interest in Mark and Rachel and sat on the floor to get a better look at the carpet.

"So?" Oak asked. "Which one of you wants to go first?"

Mark pointed at Rachel. "Better let her go before she bursts."

Rachel blushed again. "I can't help it! Fine…" She kneeled and motioned to Squirtle, who was playing with its feet. "Hey, cutie!"

"I would be careful," Oak told her. "I have bred these pokémon from powerful family lines. Do not be fooled by their carefree natures. They are all born fighters, every one." He smiled at the three pokémon proudly.

Squirtle looked up at Rachel, eyes sparkling with curiosity. It got up and walked over to her. Rachel held out her hand for Squirtle to sniff. "That's right. My name's Rachel. I want to be your friend."

Squirtle looked at her, thumb in its mouth. It seemed to be thinking it over. Finally, it raised its arms in the air, the universal baby request to be picked up. Rachel obliged and hugged the squirtle close, making it squeal with delight. Professor Oak smiled. "Very well, then. Come with me so we can register Squirtle as yours. Mark, you can wait here and make your decision."

Rachel could barely contain herself as she went into the other room with the professor. She turned around and mouthed "My first one!" to Mark before leaving.

"_Char_!"

Mark looked down at the charmander tugging on his pants leg. Charmander pointed up at the cart. "You want food, little guy?" Mark got one of the rolls and broke it in half. He gave one half to the charmander, who immediately wolfed it down. "There you go." Charmander smiled and nuzzled Mark's leg affectionately.

Mark reached down and rubbed Charmander's head. Its skin was rough and scaly. He looked over at the bulbasaur. It was sleeping in the corner, completely oblivious to the world. "Sound sleeper," he remarked. He felt some heat on his hand and turned to look at Charmander. For the first time, he noticed the flame on the tip of its tail.

"You, sir, are a walking fire hazard." Mark said. "I know you're a fire type, but come on, safety first."

"_Char?"_

"Never mind." Mark picked Charmander up and put him in his lap. Charmander licked his face. "Either you're really affectionate, or you want more food."

"_Charmander."_

"Well, too bad, because I'm sure you have some specialized diet or something." Mark looked over where Rachel and Professor Oak went. "I wonder what they're doing. Ow!"

Charmander's tail had burned his forearm. Startled by the yell, Charmander jumped off and hid under the table. Mark inspected his arm. It was bright red from the elbow down. "That's some fire you got there."

Charmander looked up at him from under the table. When Mark reached for it, it retreated to the other side. "_Char, char!"_

"Did I scare you? I'm sorry." Mark got the other half of the roll and offered it to Charmander. Charmander sniffed the air and spotted the food. Slowly, it crept forward and took it from Mark. Charmander watched Mark as it ate its prize, then decided there was nothing to be scared of and jumped back into his arms.

"See?" Mark said. "I'm not so bad."

"_Charmander."_

"Hey, I fed you. We're even now."

At that moment, Rachel and Professor Oak returned. Rachel was still holding Squirtle in her arms, as well as what looked like a bright red smartphone. She saw him looking at it and beamed. "Isn't it neat? Professor Oak said it was an encyclopedia."

"Yes, one of my inventions. It's called a pokédex." Oak said. "It will tell you everything you need to know about your pokémon, as well as any other pokémon." Oak patted Rachel on her shoulder. "Do you have everything, my dear?"

"Yes," Rachel said. "Stuff for the road, the pokéballs you gave me, and the pokédex."

"_Squirtle!_"

"Oh, I didn't forget about you, Blue!" Rachel hugged Squirtle.

Mark sighed. "You've had it for five minutes, and you already gave it a nickname?"

"That's because _she_ is such an awesome pokémon." Rachel set Blue on the floor, and pulled out Blue's pokéball. "And it's time for us to go. Blue, return." A red beam shot out of the ball. Blue shined with red light, than dematerialized into it.

"Oh!" Rachel looked at Mark like she had just noticed him. "Did you pick your pokémon yet?"

Mark was about to say no, but Charmander was trying to climb on his head, distracting him a little. Professor Oak chuckled. "I'd say Charmander chose him."

Mark held Charmander out at arm's length. Charmander was wagging its tail, raising the room temperature a good ten degrees. Mark sat there for a bit, thinking. With the squirtle gone, that left a charmander scared of loud noises and a bulbasaur too lazy to even feed itself. Neither of them sounded like good battling partners, but at least the charmander was friendly. Mark shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"_Charmander!_"

"In that case, come with me. Rachel, you're free to go if you desire."

"See you later, Mark!" Rachel practically ran out the door.

"A spirited girl," Oak remarked. "I see great things in her future."

Mark looked at the door. He'd been under the impression Rachel and he would be traveling together. Maybe she was meeting him on the road out of town?

His thoughts were interrupted when Mark noticed familiar heat straying back towards his arm. He held Charmander away from him, prompting a smile from the fire-type. "So, I'm getting a pokédex?"

"Yes, but first, we have to register Charmander as one of your pokémon. You'll need some ID and Charmander's pokéball."

Mark followed Professor Oak into what looked like a room straight out of the DMV, complete with camera and ID card machine. Charmander went looking around the room while Oak directed Mark to a chair. After taking his picture and printing out the card, Professor Oak pulled a pokédex out of his pocket and five miniaturized pokéballs. He indicated a blue button on the pokédex. "Place your right thumb here." Mark did as directed, and the device beeped.

"There. Now, you are the only one who can use this pokédex. There is a small manual that will tell you how to operate it."

"Neat."

"You will also have to register the charmander as your own, like I told Rachel. This is done with a DNA scan as well as an associated name." Professor Oak nodded at Charmander. "In my line of work, we simply name the pokémon after their species to keep things simpler. However, it is custom for trainers to come up with their own names in order to become more familiar with their pokémon."

Mark thought for a moment, staring as Charmander dropped on all fours to look underneath some unknown machine. He wanted to name it something intimidating and dangerous. Something that sounded mature and manly.

"I like Red."

"Red?"

Mark instantly regretted it, but at the sound of the name Charmander perked up and looked at him before hissing appreciatively. Mark took that as a good sign. "Yeah. I'll call him Red."

Oak input the information into the pokedex, showing Mark how to do so. When he was done, Mark put the pokédex in his pocket and clipped the pokéballs on his belt. "Is that it?"

"No. Now comes the hard part." Professor Oak handed Mark another pokéball. "Call Red back to you."

When Red saw the pokéball, its cheerful disposition disappeared. The tail flame doubled in size, and the air around them grew hotter. Mark frowned. "What's Red's problem?"

"Some pokémon do not like being in a pokéball. Red is one of them." Oak said simply. "Normally I keep Red out, but in order for Red to be registered, it has to be in its pokéball."

Red hissed. Despite the fire, Mark could see it was terrified. "It must be claustrophobic or something. You sure about this, Professor?"

Oak nodded. "Pokéballs operate by scanning the pokémon they capture, mainly for health reasons, but also to make sure the pokémon can be legally captured. If you do not register Red as yours, it is considered a wild pokémon by definition and law and any trainer will be able to catch it like normal."

Mark put the pokéball in his pocket and approached Red. Red stopped snarling, but he shrank back as Mark got closer. Mark reached out to reassure Red, but his body temperature was so high, Red was too hot to touch. Despite the heat, Red was shivering with fear. Mark stopped just short of Red, considering the little charmander. Then he pulled out the pokéball.

"_Char! Char!_"

Red tried to run, but the red beam hit it and pulled Red into the ball. "Done," Mark said as he stood up. However, almost immediately the pokéball began heating up. It was rapidly becoming too hot to touch. "Whoa!" Mark dropped the ball and began waving his hands to cool them.

Professor Oak had evidently foreseen this. He ran up wearing heavy-duty oven mitts on both hands. Oak picked up the ball and held it out to Mark. "Point the pokédex at the ball and press that same blue button." Mark pressed the button. It didn't looked like anything was happening, but Professor Oak eventually hit the pokéball's button and Red popped out. He was crying. Mark tried to pick Red up to console him but the charmander shied away from him. But when Oak stepped forward to hand Mark the pokédex, Red decided Mark was safer and crept behind his legs. Mark watched him, concerned, but Oak showed no alarm.

"Red will be fine," Oak said. "We're done now. Good luck!"

* * *

><p>Mark was ready to leave Pallet Town behind. But first, lunch and planning. Rachel was nowhere to be found, and Mark realized she was planning to leave without him after all. Not really knowing what to do with that, he and Red stopped outside the town gate for a small break. Red decided to try and climb a tree while Mark sat under it and fiddled with his new pokédex.<p>

"Hey, Red, come here a minute."

Red hopped down and curled up in Mark's lap. According to the pokédex, Red was male, and had an ability called Blaze. Blaze caused some fire-types to power up when under serious stress, which would explain how Red nearly melted his pokéball. The pokédex also said young charmander fought mainly with their claws and used intimidating hisses to scare away larger foes.

Mark poked around the pokédex for a bit, learning by trial and error. He preferred it that way. There was a scanner on the pokédex that could tell you everything you needed to know about a pokémon, from its species to what pokémon you could breed to get said species. You could even pull up a specific list of attacks the pokémon know how to do. And not simple tricks like sit and roll over, either. Pokémon were taught specific things by their parents upon being born, and the very memories of those attacks could be found by the pokédex and matched up with a name and description of the attack. According to Mark's pokédex, Red knew four attacks; Scratch, Growl, Dragon Dance, and Outrage.

Mark frowned. "Aren't you supposed to know how to breathe fire or something?"

Red looked puzzled.

"You know. Fire, like this." Mark held up Red's tail. Red decided Mark was playing a game and started playing with his own tail. Mark smiled. "You're cute when you're stupid. Ah, well, we'll cover that later."

"He's still young, you know. He doesn't know how to battle yet."

Mark looked up to see Rachel staring down at him. "I thought you left already."

She smiled. "I decided to wait for you. I figured you'd start by heading towards Viridian City. So you had to come by here eventually." Rachel held out a pokéball. "We're pokémon trainers now. Let's battle!"

Mark looked down at Red. Red was about to stick the fiery end of his tail in his mouth. Mark quickly stopped him and laughed as Red pouted, mad the game had ended. "I don't think he's ready yet."

Rachel had her hand on her hips, which she did when she was annoyed with him. "He'll never be ready if you never battle. Come on, I'll buy you lunch if you beat me."

"Fine. Hey, Red." Red looked up. "Feel like a battle?"

"_Char!_" Red jumped to his feet and adopted what it probably thought was an intimidating stance, feet wide apart with claws and teeth bared. Mark smiled.

"Okay, let's do it!"

Rachel threw her pokéball on the ground. "Blue, time for your first battle!"

Blue jumped out of her ball and dropped on all fours. She looked more than ready for a fight. Mark, however, refused to be intimidated. "Red, use Scratch!"

Red ran forward and swiped viciously at Blue's exposed face. Three red lines appeared between her eyes. Blue held her face and cried in pain.

Mark couldn't believe how fast Red was. They just might win this. "Red, again, Scratch!"

Rachel pointed at Red. "That was mean! Blue, Tackle him!"

Blue recovered and charged on all fours at Red. Red sidestepped and tried to claw her face again, but all he hit was Blue's tough shell. "Red, go for her legs! Scratch!" Mark yelled.

Red stooped low to obey, but Blue jumped up and landed on his head. "Now, Blue, Tackle him again!" Rachel said. Blue jumped up and landed on Red yet again. She tried a third time, but Red rolled out from under her.

"Red, do a Growl!"

"_Chaaaaar..._"

Red let loose a low hiss, causing Blue to sweat a little and take a step back. "Now, Red," Mark said, "While she's scared! Scratch!"

"Aqua Jet!"

Mark had half a second to think _what?_ before Blue launched a blast of water from her mouth, covering herself with foam. She then ran at Red quicker than he or Mark could react. Red was hit so hard he flew back into the tree, and even from his position Mark could see Red wasn't getting up anytime soon. He ran over to check on Red while Rachel called Blue back to her.

Red was bruised across his chest. He moaned a little and tried to get up, but Mark gently pushed him back down. "It's okay, big guy. Fight's over, you rest a bit."

Mark picked up Red and turned around to see Rachel holding out her hand. "Pay up, Mark," Rachel said. "You know the rules."

Mark sighed and put Red down to reach for his wallet. He pulled out some money and handed it to Rachel. "Good battle. But, how did Blue learn how to do a water attack so soon? Red can't even breathe fire."

"I don't know," Rachel said.

"Lies and deception."

Rachel shrugged. "I really don't know. I was using my pokédex to learn about Blue and it said she knew how to Aqua Jets. Maybe she learned it from her parents?"

Mark was looking up information on squirtle with his pokédex. "According to this, most squirtle only initially know how to Tackle and knock enemies over with their tails." Blue knew Tackle, Tail Whip, Aqua Jet, and something called Aqua Ring. Mark closed the pokédex and put it back in his pocket. "Beginner's luck?"

"You wish." Rachel hugged Blue. "My Blue is so smart, yes she is! A pokémon genius." Rachel returned Blue to her pokéball and stared at Mark. "The professor said our pokémon were bred from trained fighters. According to my own pokédex, Blue's parents were a wartortle and a dewgong. What about Red's?"

"Don't know." Mark just didn't feel like looking it up. He had a feeling Rachel would know anyway. Mark told her the attacks Red knew. Rachel frowned at him. "Why use Scratch and Growl, then? You could have had him Dance, and then use Outrage. Blue would have been hit hard."

Mark shrugged. "What's the difference?"

"Mark, Outrage is a dragon-type attack, and a strong one. And Dragon Dancing can make Red faster and stronger." Rachel shook her head. "Red's father was obviously a dragon-type of some kind. That's a big deal. You should have some pride in him. Train him right."

Now Mark was getting annoyed. Rachel didn't have to act so superior just because she won. He picked Red back up. "I'm going to take him back to my mom's house to rest up. I'll be back in a bit."

"Nah. I'll just meet up with you in Viridian City later."

"What?"

Rachel watched him for a moment. "I know we agreed to go together, but I promised myself I'd get a pidgey before I saw Viridian City, and I want to get started as soon as possible." She pointed at Red. "He needs a day to rest. I can spend that day tracking down my next partner and hit you up later."

Mark was disappointed. But he didn't want to make Rachel wait on him. So all he did was nod, and Rachel turned to leave. "Thanks for the battle, Mark! See you later!"

Mark watched her go. "Women…" Mark looked down at his pokémon. "Hey, Red."

"_Char?"_

"Don't listen to Rachel. You did great, for your first battle. If Blue didn't use water attacks we would have won." Mark smiled reassuringly. "So don't worry about it."

"_Charmander char..."_

"Rachel is going to be the best she can be. She'll spend the rest of the day working with Blue on catching a pidgey." Mark thought for a second. "You feeling okay? Can you walk?"

"_Char!"_

"Then before we reach Viridian City, not only are we going to catch a pokémon, you're going to learn how to breathe fire. Okay?"

"_Charmander!"_

Mark set Red down and, after a moment of unsteady wobbling, Red pronounced himself fit to travel. Mark started down the road after Rachel, but stopped and stared to his right across a field of tall, green grass. He finally set out across the grass with a determined stride, and Red following close behind him.


	3. Route 1: Run Before You Walk

"Okay, try it again."

Red's forehead scrunched up as the little reptile concentrated. Mark stifled a laugh and glanced at his pokédex. "'Fire techniques come from the breath.'" he read, "'The strength of the attack depends on lung capacity and…diaphragm control.'?" Mark didn't quite understand that bit, but what Red needed right now was encouragement."So pretty much, all you're doing is inhaling and exhaling. Really hard."

Red paused and closed his eyes, breathing in and out. Mark noticed the flame on his tail was getting brighter and took that to be a good sign. "Looking good, Red. Alright, now," Mark checked the pokédex again, "'Your pokémon's insides should feel comfortably warm from an increase in body temperature. As the temperature builds, have your pokémon began releasing short, quick breaths.' So go ahead and do that."

Red exhaled sharply. To both Mark and Red's delight, two small puffs of flame shot from his nostrils. "Very nice! Keep at it."

Two days after they left Pallet Town, Mark was keeping his promise to Red and helping the young charmander learn how to breathe fire with a little help from the pokédex. Mark loved the thing. It told him everything he needed to know about any pokémon in existence, even ones not native to Kanto. It truly was a high-tech encyclopedia. It even went over how to properly raise pokémon, including helping them learn different attacks and even giving a list of what attacks those pokémon were able to perform. Oak must have spent a fortune gathering all this know-how. Almost made Mark want to become a pokémon researcher.

Almost. Mark was slowing stepping into the training part of pokémon training, and he was loving every second of it. Apparently he had a talent for teaching. Something to look into if he didn't make it as a pokémon trainer. _See, Mom, I do plan ahead._

The flames coming from Red's nose were getting brighter, and Mark was definitely feeling the heat from them. "Okay, now try from your mouth. Ember!"

Red lifted his head and shot three fireballs into the air, cheering when he saw them splash into the oak tree above him.

"Uh oh."

"_Char?_"

Mark ran to his pack and grabbed a two-quart canteen of water. He managed to douse the flames in the lower branches before they could completely spread. Fortunately the bark was thick and the tree was healthy. The green branches only smoldered. Still, Mark thought as he eyed the blackened leaves, they should be more careful in the future.

"_Charchar?"_

"No, no, you did great," Mark told Red, "but maybe next time aim away from trees."

Red nodded. Then he clapped his little claws, unable to contain his excitement. "You should be proud," Mark told him. "Because guess what?"

"_Charmander?_"

"Now you can help me catch a pokémon."

Red cheered. Mark felt like joining him. But Red was making slower progress than Mark had hoped for. Knowing Rachel, she had already moved on, leaving Mark in the dust to struggle on without her. At this rate, Rachel would have her first badge before Mark even made it through Viridian Forest. He was starting to think he'd never catch up to her.

But his patience had paid off today. Red had _finally_ produced flame. So now, they were ready to capture another member for Mark's line-up. Rachel had said she wanted a pidgey, and since the idea came from Rachel, it had to be a good one. But Mark didn't want to just copy everything she did, and as the pokémon population between Pallet Town and Viridian City was pretty sparse, the only other option left was...

_"Charmander!"_

Red suddenly ran between Mark's legs. Mark turned around in time to see a small purple tail sticking up out of his pack. Red let out a Growl and the tail disappeared, only to be replaced by a white furry face as a rattata poked its head out of his pack. In its mouth it held an apple, fruit Mark had picked off a tree yesterday.

"Hey!"

Red Growled again and leapt forward to Scratch the thieving rodent. But the rattata ducked back into the pack and scurried out from under his attack. Its tail lashed out and bopped Red in the face, knocking him on his back. But Mark was there by then, reaching down for his bag in hopes he could scoop up the rattata inside it and trap it. It almost worked. The rattata was trapped, but his front half was still sticking up out of the bag. And it had just enough room to turn around and Bite Mark on the forearm.

"Aaah!"

_"Char!"_

Mark dropped the bag. The rattata squirmed loose and ran off through the grass. Red moved after it but Mark called him back. Trainer and pokémon stared at the spot they'd last seen the rattata, both feeling humiliated. Mark inspected his arm and then looked down at Red.

"Was that the same one from before?"

Red nodded. The first night out here, something had gotten into Mark's pack while they slept. Since Mark did not have a tent, he could not keep the bag somewhere secure, so last night Mark had hooked it up in the oak tree by the straps to keep it off the ground. Red woke up when he heard the bag hit the ground and saw a rattata jump down from the tree and scurry off. It had chewed through the pack's straps to put it back within reach.

Mark grinned as an idea took him. A clever pokémon with brawn to match its brains was a welcome member of his party. "What say we catch that rattata?"

* * *

><p>Pokémon, being more sentient than not, have their own culture and language amongst themselves and between their own species. Though many breeders and owners typically gave their partners their own names, pokémon were often assigned names by their parents or social groups long before their first contact with humans. The rattata knew himself as the name his warren had labeled him, and always would identify himself using that name. The name was conveyed to him and other rattata through nose twitches and looks, and the closest human translation for it would be Thick Tail.<p>

Thick Tail, as a rattata, was a scavenger and an opportunist and felt pride in being so. He normally stuck with seeds and fruit, but on occasion found chances for gourmet food such as pidgey eggs. Sometimes during the spring he would come across pidgey chicks themselves, and helped himself to such treats whenever he found them.

But traveling humans always, _always _had better things. This latest one had fresh fruit and some kind of dried meat in his pack, and Thick Tail had already snagged some of the fruit. Tonight, he promised himself, he would have the meat. He wanted to make sure he grabbed it before the human moved out of the area. Humans only stuck around for a few days at most. He had already bested both the human and his partner, who Thick Tail had taken to calling Burning Baby, and was confidant he would have his prize tonight.

Thick Tail backtracked back to the human's campsite easily. He crept silently through the grass, ears and nose in constant movement as he kept full awareness of his surroundings. The eldest of his warren had warned him and his siblings of so-called pokémon trainers, how they were as dangerous as hunting pidgeot and would take Thick Tail far away from hole and home. Thick Tail supposed this could be one of those fabled humans, as the human had a pokémon Thick Tail had never seen or heard of, but Thick Tail was not impressed. The human was one of the younger of his kind, and the strange pokémon was clearly still an infant. This trainer, if he was one, was no threat.

Thick Tail snuck closer. His eyes, adapted to seeing in dim light, could see a bundle in the sleeping bag to the right of Burning Baby. Burning Baby himself was propped against the tree, fast asleep. His fiery tail lit the area up very well, and Thick Tail could see the backpack next to Burning Baby. Clearly the infant had fallen asleep trying to stand guard through the night, and this time the human had not even bothered trying to rig the pack up to the tree limb again. Thick Tail smiled to himself. The meat was as good as his.

He made his way around the edge of the fire light towards the tree. The grass only rustled slightly as Thick Tail moved around the trunk opposite of Burning Baby towards the pack. They had even left it open. The rattata eagerly crawled up to it and ducked his head inside to -

The world went dark, and suddenly Thick Tail was upside down. He fell into the bag head first and felt himself rise off the ground. Thick Tail panicked, struggling and crying out as the pack closed around him. His back paw caught the edge of the opening before it closed, however, and Thick Tail immediately stuck his tail in behind it just as the pack closed up around him. His tail lashed around, clipping on something hard and thin. He wrapped his tail around it and held on, clawing like mad at the bottom of the pack.

He heard the human yell something. There was impact against the bag, and something sharp scraped his right ear. Thick Tail was manic now, bringing his teeth into play. His large teeth Bit deep into the fabric of the bag, and ripped a hole in the corner. His front paws enlarged it within a second, and he stuck his head out. Thick Tail was almost free!

Then, there was fire. Thick Tail felt heat, hotter than anything he'd ever felt, flash up in his face. Now there was pain, and he couldn't see. He Bit blindly, calling for help all the while.

The human yelled out again, and suddenly Thick Tail was falling. He hit the ground, hard, and it hurt. But now he had better traction, and Thick Tail successfully extricated himself from the bag. His eyesight was returning, and the minute he saw grass, he ran for it.

But suddenly, Burning Baby was in his way. Baby Scratched his face, and Thick Tail jumped away. A noise behind him alerted him to the human, who was reaching for him. Thick Tail Bit at his hands, forcing the human back, and moved with his back against the tree to take in the scene.

The pack lay a few feet away, torn to shreds. The human was standing next to it, and in front of the sleeping bag still bundled up like it was occupied. An obvious deception, now. Two strings tried around the pack's handles told him a story; the human must have been waiting above in the tree for him to enter the bag, then pulled it up and trapped him inside. Almost. If there was one thing all rattata were exceptional at, it was Running Away.

Thick Tail thought of moving around the tree and darting into the grass, but Burning Baby was on the opposite side of the human, both of them positioned to grab him if he moved around the oak. Going straight would only take him between them.

So. It was a fight then. Thick Tail could handle that. He charged Burning Baby, correctly guessing him to be the least formidable. But the human called out to Baby, and the pokémon neatly dodged Thick Tail's Tackle. He also left a clear path to the grass. Thick Tail took it.

Then, Burning Baby was _there_, right back in front of him. How?

More fire. Thick Tail caught it again with his face. He squeaked in alarm and backed off, feigning an injury. When Baby went for a Scratch, Thick Tail Bit him on the arm. Hard.

_"Charchar char!"_

Baby tried to run, to shake him off. But Thick Tail was angry now. He held the pokémon down and Tail Whipped him on every inch he could reach, bringing his namesake into the fight. Baby cried out again and again as the tail lashed him in the stomach, the groin, the face -

"Outrage!"

Now Thick Tail was flying again. Baby had just thrown him off like a caterpie. Thick Tail slammed into the tree and slid down it to the ground. He was up in an instant, ready to fight, but then Baby was on him.

Now, Thick Tail was being beaten. Badly. Baby didn't Scratch, he hit. Thick Tail felt two blows in his side, and then there was a loud POP, and Thick Tail was screaming, crying, begging for it to end as Baby's burning tail caught him in the rear, then the head...

"Red, stop! Stop!"

Human hands grabbed Baby and yanked him away. Thick Tail saw the human bending for him as the word started going black. The last thing he thought before he was out was that the elders had been right.

* * *

><p>"No, no, no, no!"<p>

The fight had been going well. Mark still remembered Rachel's advice from their first battle, and had trained Red in Dragon Dancing before working with him on Ember. Red took to it like a golduck to water, and was easily keeping pace with the faster rattata.

So when the battle turned against them, Mark hadn't seen the harm in ordering an Outrage. He thought Red would just start Scratching like a madman. He'd been wrong. Horribly wrong.

Red stopped struggling the second Mark put him down, but the charmander was breathing hard and clearly still ready to fight. He had a look in his eyes that Mark didn't like. It was angry. Vicious. Bloodthirsty.

And now there was a dead pokémon at their feet.

"Red! What did you do?"

Red glared at him. Mark almost kicked him. "We only wanted to catch it, not murder it! What did you do?!"

Red Growled at Mark. Mark shook his head and looked back at the rattata. He bent down to pick it up.

"Wait."

Its chest was still moving. Very slightly, but it was clear the rattata was still breathing. Mark paused, elated, but still unsure what to do.

"_Char?"_

Red stepped up to sniff the rattata. Mark shoved him away. Red gave a small cry, now acting like his normal self, but Mark didn't care. "Yeah. You did that. Happy?"

Mark glared at Red. To his surprise, Red was not happy. Instead, the poor charmander looked like he was about to cry. He moved for the rattata again and gave it a shake. The rattata squeaked, confirming it was indeed still alive. But Mark still didn't know what to do.

Fortunately, Red was a bit more level headed. He ran for the pack, grabbed something, and raced back to Mark. In his hands was a pokéball. Mark needed no further prompting. He tossed it down next to the rattata. The wounded pokémon dissolved into red light and disappeared into the ball. "Grab that. I'll get the bag. Viridian City is close. Let's go!"

* * *

><p><strong>Mark's Pokémon<strong>

Red (Charmander) - Level 9

Unamed (Rattata) - Level 10


	4. Viridian City: So What Did We Learn?

Mark and Red didn't make it to the Viridian City Pokémon Center until the early hours of the morning. He burst through the doors and started screaming for a doctor. A pokémon appeared out of nowhere and pushed Mark down into a nearby chair. It was about Mark's height, but was big and round, and a light shade of pink. It also had an egg in a pouch and was wearing a nurse's hat. "_Chansey?"_ it asked him.

Mark held out the rattata's pokéball. "Please, I have a seriously sick pokémon. Help me out?"

"Don't worry." A nurse walked up. She had red hair curled into loops on the side of her head. She smiled sweetly. "I'm Nurse Joy. Please, give me the pokéball, and I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," Mark said. Red nodded and jumped into Mark's lap. "Can I come?"

"I'm afraid we have a policy against trainers following their pokémon in the back," Nurse Joy said. "Please, relax. I won't be long."

For the remainder of the night, Mark sat in that chair. The first few minutes were spent anxiously watching for the nurse's return, but when it became apparent that would be a while in the future Mark pulled out his pokédex to do some more research. Red fell asleep as Mark tried to occupy himself with looking up information on rattata, but he could not stop reliving the night's battle over and over in his head. Eventually he found himself reading the same line of text for the fourth time, and finally typed "Outrage" into the search bar.

"_Outrage,"_ Mark silently read, "_is a dragon-type attack wherein the user enters a state of rage for typically 20-30 seconds. The user attacks the closest enemy target and pursues them until the target either flees, the user's rage subsides, or the target is eliminated as a threat. This attack is not recommended for beginning trainers or pokémon as it can be difficult to control and direct. Full-grown pokémon manage to keep some sense of self during the attack, but still run the risk of attacking allies or bystanders. After the attack ends, the user will be momentarily confused, leaving them open for counterattack."_

Mark had not known any of that. He had ordered Red to use an attack neither of them truly understood, and now there was a rattata dying in the back of the Pokémon Center.

_Please don't let it die._

An hour passed before Nurse Joy finally returned. Mark paled a little when he saw red spots of blood on her turquoise scrubs. He shook Red to wake him up and got up from the chair to meet her. The charmander yawned and followed dutifully behind him.

"Your rattata is going to be fine."

Mark breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank - "

"Your rattata has four broken ribs and a punctured lung," Joy continued. "We have to run a catheter through your pokémon's rib cage to remove the excess air from his chest cavity before we can attempt to reinflate the lung. It should be healed by tomorrow if all goes well, but we're prescribing a round of antibiotics that will be available for pick up when our pharmacy opens in the morning. The ribs, however, will need a few days to mend. We will be attaching rib plates to them after a few sprays of Full Restore, but any trauma runs the risk of knocking those plates from the ribs. In other words," Joy finished, "your rattata will not be fit for battle for at least a week."

Mark nodded. "I understand."

Nurse Joy gave him a long, hard look. "It is against our policy to ask the causes of a pokémon's injuries unless we need to know them to heal them. My diagnosis tells me your rattata was on the losing end of a battle, and broken bones have been a common sight here since our gym became popular." She crossed her arms. "Pokémon battles are for sport, and despite the risks, the majority of pokémon enjoy them. But there is a difference between battling and abuse, and the extent of his injuries indicate the latter. I've sent your name and identification to other Pokémon Centers in Kanto. If your pokémon turn up there with more injuries such as these, they will be taken from you and you will be turned over to law enforcement. So I suggest you learn how to properly battle with your pokémon."

"Yes, ma'am." There was no need for the warning lecture, though. Mark had resolved to never let Red use Outrage again before Nurse Joy came back. "May I see him?"

"Unfortunately, no. He is still in surgery and will be for the next several hours. We have rooms set aside for trainers that have to stay overnight." Only then did Mark notice she was holding a clipboard. She handed it to him. "Please fill out the form, sign it and the waiver under it, and then you will be taken to your room."

One of the questions asked was the name of the patient. After a moment's thought, Mark wrote "Dale" onto the line. He filled the rest of the paperwork out and then gave Joy back the clipboard. She pointed to her right. Mark followed her finger and saw she was indicating he climb a stairwell. "Your room is number eight on the second floor. Have a good sleep. We will notify you if anything changes with your rattata."

Mark nodded in silent thanks and took Red with him up the stairs. When they got to their room he closed the door behind him, dropped his mangled pack and hoody by the window, and sat on the bed. Red found a spot of floor (tile, and thankfully not flammable) to lay on and curled himself into a ball, looking up at Mark.

Mark sighed again. "Damn."

_"Charmander."_

"We messed up, Red. I messed up." Mark returned Red's look. "From now on, we're not using any attack in battle until we do some training on it first. And we're never using Outrage again."

Red's head came up, unspoken questions in his eyes. "Because our inexperience got a pokémon hurt. Badly."

_"Char?"_

"The object of pokémon battles is to beat your opponent, Red." Mark reached out and rubbed his head. "You don't need to hurt them to do that. I know you don't completely understand that but it's how we're going to be doing things while you're with me. So let's promise to keep ourselves honest and fight clean from now on. Okay?"

Red nodded, and tucked his head under his tail to sleep. Mark laid down on the bed and tried to sleep. But another dream, this time about the darkness swallowing Dale, kept his sleep far from restful. When another nurse came to tell him his rattata was stable, Mark felt like he hadn't slept at all. The nurse also told him he could stay another night while Dale recovered from surgery, so Mark just rolled back over to toss and turn through his nightmares.

* * *

><p>That following morning, Dale the rattata was cleared to leave with Mark. Mark picked up his prescription from the pharmacy and stepped out into the sunlight. Dale could walk fine, and he needed exercise, so Mark kept him out of his ball to walk with Red. Red offered the rattata a greeting but Dale ignored him. He was angry about the beating he took, and had every reason to be. Mark knew he'd have to deal with that at some point, and felt letting Dale walk around in fresh air after spending two days in a pokémon center was a good way to start making amends.<p>

Still, he found himself thinking on Nurse Joy's words. Heavy-handed threat aside, she made a good point. Mark had very little idea how to properly battle with his pokémon and, as displayed in his first attempt at capturing another teammate, such ignorance could have disastrous consequences. Mark needed to learn more. So his first stop would be at the Viridian City Pokémon Gym.

The Viridian City Pokémon Gym had been, at one point, a run-down and forgettable gym owned by the local Pokémon School in order to help beginning trainers learn the rules of Pokémon League battles. When city-wide budget cuts caused a drop in government funding for the school, they were forced to sell the gym to keep the doors open. Giovanni, who at the time had just been a traveling trainer, bought the gym at full price and set about turning it into an official Pokémon League gym. After passing the exam required to be declared an official Gym Leader, Giovanni declared an open challenge to all trainers across Kanto and set about beating nearly everyone that came through his doors. Years later the gym had awarded less than fifty badges since it's opening, giving it the reputation of being the toughest gym in Kanto. Giovanni himself was considered one of the best pokémon trainers in the region.

In Mark's opinion, it was the best place to learn how to battle like a real trainer. Mark had no high hopes of winning his challenge, but the chance to meet and learn from a personal hero was not something he wanted to pass up. So after stopping to ask for directions, Mark found himself standing before the Viridian City Pokémon Gym, with Red and Dale on either side of him.

The gym was a one-story building with a battle arena out back. That was expected. However, the twelve people standing outside of it were not. They were holding up signs and blocking off the path up to the gym's double-doors. Mark could just make out the contents of a few. One was a simple black-and-white sign reading "No Rights In Fights". Mark wasn't too sure what that meant, but there was another one that made the message more clear. It said "Trained With Pain!" and showed a crude drawing of a stick figure whipping a pikachu.

They were pokémon battle protesters. Mark's mother had told him about them back when she thought she could talk him out of becoming a pokémon trainer. Some people believed pokémon battles advocated violence and supported pokémon abuse and sought to legally put an end to the sport. Mark disagreed with them, but had been raised to respect other people's opinions. The problem was, they were clearly here to be seen by aspiring gym challengers and make their opinions heard. And as Mark stood across the street debating what to do about them, one of them spotted him and notified the others. They all picked up their signs and moved towards him. As they walked across the street, Mark could see one man held a few pamphlets and three women were holding boxes. He could not see what was inside them.

The man with the pamphlets came up to him. "Hello, sir."

Mark was taken aback at being called sir. He was barely fifteen. "Can I help you?"

The man indicated his two pokémon. "Are these your pokémon? Do you plan on entering a gym challenge with them?"

"Yes, and yes, though not this gym," Mark replied. "I was going to start at Pewter City."

The man nodded in understanding. He held out a pamphlet. "Are you aware you are actually abusing these pokémon?"

_Not in the way you think._ Mark politely waved away the pamphlet. "How so, sir?"

"By making them battle for you in the interest of making money."

That was fair logic. "But that's not what I'm doing." Mark pointed down at Red, who didn't seem to understand what was going on. "Red likes to battle. And I actually taught him how to breathe fire the other day."

One of the women with the boxes piped up, "You used their love for you to indenture them!"

That was uncalled for. "I got Red from the pokémon lab in Pallet Town. He chose to come with me." Mark pointed at Dale. "And I just caught my rattata."

"So," the man continued, "you pulled that rattata out of the wild to make him fight for you?"

"I'm not making him fight for me," Mark replied. Dale looked up at him. "I haven't even used him to battle yet."

"But you admit to catching him?"

"Yes."

"Why did you?"

"Because he - "

"Because you support arena combat at the expense of pokémon?"

Mark blinked. "What?"

"He mocks us!" The man turned back to the crowd. "You see now, how this sport corrupts our youth and teaches them to glorify violence against others?"

"But I - "

"We must educate him." The man pointed at one of the women holding boxes. "Teach the boy the error of his ways and encourage him to release his pokémon back into the wild where they belong!"

She reached into the box and pulled out a round, pink object. She suddenly flung it at Mark, who cried out as it hit him in the chest. Mark looked down and saw it was a stuffed jigglypuff toy covered in red paint. Another plushie hit him, and then another. Red took one to the face and hissed while Dale moved back behind Mark's legs to avoid being struck. Mark ducked down to avoid another projectile and silently called Dale back to his pokéball. He was about to bring Red back into his when a hand grabbed his arm.

"No!" the man bellowed. "Release that poor creature!"

Another jigglypuff bounced off Mark's forehead. "Let go!"

"That is enough."

It was spoken softly, but was somehow loud enough to be heard over all the commotion and grab everyone's attention. The man still hadn't released Mark, and worse, another gentleman had Red bundled up in his arms. The charmander hissed at him, prompting him to drop Red and allowing Red to move to hide behind Mark. All eyes were focused on the dark-haired man standing in the road with a massive, purple pokémon behind him.

"The law says off the property, Giovanni," the older man said. "We've done nothing to violate that."

"Agreed. Yet I just witnessed you assault a young boy and attempt to rob him." Giovanni pointed at the man. "Release him."

"Or what?" the man scoffed. "If you do anything, we'll call the police."

"By all means," said Giovanni. "And I will be sure to tell the officer how you went out of your way to intercept a boy who had done nothing to provoke you in such a way that forced my nidoking to Sandstorm you all to Mt. Silver and back."

"But we'll - "

"Only have a case after I attack you." Giovanni gave a cold smile. "I'm a very wealthy man, ladies and gentlemen. I can do all sorts of things in that boy's defense and pay an entire legal team enough to justify them for me. I suggest you leave."

At that, the man let go of Mark and motioned for the group to follow him. They took their boxes and signs and beat a hasty retreat down the road. Mark began checking Red for injuries as Giovanni called back Danny and walked towards him.

"All you alright, son?"

"Yes, sir." Mark rubbed Red's head. "And so is my charmander. Thank you, Mr. Giovanni."

"I see my fame precedes me once more." Giovanni held out a hand. Mark took it. "Please, allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Gym Leader Giovanni of the Viridian City Pokémon Gym. And you are?"

"Mark Richardson, from Pallet Town." Mark smiled at him. "I saw you on the television last week."

"Oh?"

"Yeah! You were trouncing Agatha."

"Oh." Giovanni's smiled hardened a bit. "Yes. My Pokémon League challenge."

Mark let go of his hand. "You won, though. Right?"

Giovanni gave a humorless chuckle in reply. "No, unfortunately. I lost that fight."

"Oh." There was an awkward pause. Red begin sniffing Giovanni's shoes. He was dressed in a black three-piece suit and had suede shoes. His suit looked like it was worth more than the house Mark grew up in. "May I ask how?"

"You may. But first, walk with me." Giovanni turned on his heel and began walking back towards his gym. Mark followed him. "I take it you're here to challenge me? You are very bold for a beginner."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Yes, but not in the way you think," he replied. "You came with a pokémon normally given to rookie trainers by Professor Oak and another that's commonly caught by amateurs. Worry not," Giovanni quickly said when he saw the disappointed look on Mark's face, "everyone has to start somewhere."

"Thank you." Giovanni held the gym door open for him, allowing Mark to step past him and inside the gym. There was a small waiting area with benches and a receptionist desk, as well as a door that presumably led to the back of the gym. The desk was empty, as was the room, and Giovanni was now holding the other door open for him as well. Mark stepped through it and into a fenced-off area behind the gym. The arena was back here, just beyond the shelter of a back porch. There were several couches on the porch. Giovanni took one and motioned for Mark to take the one across from him. Mark sat down on it, shooing Red away as he tried to jump up after him.

"Down, boy. You're still a fire hazard."

"Actually," Giovanni said, "their tail flames don't burn hot enough to ignite anything, or even singe it. He may sit with you if he likes."

Mark called Red up to his lap. The pokémon's flaming tail draped over the edge of the couch cushion where, true to Giovanni's word, the flame licked the underside of the couch but did not burn it. Mark went back to talking with the gym leader. "So how did you lose?"

"Where did you leave off?"

"She had just beaten Maverick."

"Ah. Yes, that was unfortunate." Giovanni tried to smile but failed to achieve a full one. "Danny was running on fumes when I sent him out again and Hexx made quick work of him. My furret managed to take it down with a lucky Sucker Punch but as his best offensive attack was of no effect against ghosts, Agatha's mismagius was able to beat him. And so ended my challenge."

"But you defeated three of them," Mark pointed out. "Shouldn't you be a member of the Four now?"

"If I had stopped my challenge then, yes." Giovanni sighed. "But by shooting for Champion without being a member, I forfeit my position among them. Which is why I'm still a Gym Leader. You see?"

"Yes, sir."

"I went into that fight expecting to make Maverick the cornerstone of my strategy. Let that be a lesson to you, Mark," Giovanni told him. "Do not hinge a battle entirely on the strength of one pokémon."

Mark nodded. "I'll remember that."

"But, you are here for a gym challenge." Giovanni gave a warmer smile this time. "When would you like to begin?"

"Actually," Mark said, "I came here for some advice on pokémon battles."

"Oh?" Giovanni leaned forward. "I've seen a battle or three in my time." Mark laughed. "What can I do for you?"

After a moment's hesitation, Mark launched into his story. He told Giovanni about his battle with Rachel and how he learned about hereditary moves. Then he told him about encountering Dale and the battle he had to capture him. Giovanni leaned back and formed a tent with his fingers, watching Mark until he finished talking. He sat in silence afterward for a minute, silently staring at his fingers while Mark watched him. Finally, Giovanni spoke.

"Your charmander sounds very strong for his age."

Red smiled wide. "_Char!"_

"You lost your first battle but did well despite suffering from a type disadvantage. My compliments." Giovanni leaned forward again. "Against your rattata, it sounds like you learned from a past mistake and compensated for a weakness. I will say though that if your rattata cannot take hits like that from an opponent of equal size but lesser strength, you'd be better off without it. Such weakness in a pokémon will hinder your progress."

Mark was mildly surprised. Giovanni's words made sense, but their source was unexpected. Giovanni had always advocated proper care and treatment for pokémon. Callously suggesting tossing one aside seemed uncharacteristic for him. Also, that's not what he wanted advice on. "I was hoping you could give me pointers on how to battle and defeat other pokémon without severely injuring them."

"Pokémon centers are state-of-the-art and can heal every possible wound short of a missing limb." Giovanni waved Mark's concerns away. "Don't worry about pulling punches. I rarely do. The only pokémon you should care about keeping healthy are your own."

"Pardon?"

"Mark, how do you think I became the top Gym Leader in Kanto?" Giovanni jerked his thumb at the arena behind him. "That isn't just an arena. It's a fighting pit. It's a battleground. And pokémon battling wasn't created for pokémon's benefits. It's a sport solely designed for human entertainment. There is also no such thing as a fair fight. If a pokémon can't compete, can't keep up, can't dish out more than it can take, it has no spot on that court. Everyone involved would better benefit from leaving that pokémon on the sidelines. Does that make sense?"

"I guess so." Mark thought for a second. "But what if the pokémon wants to be out there?"

"If it's a hindrance to your team," Giovanni stated, "it belongs on the bench. That's how football is done. That's how basketball is done. That's how pokémon battles are done. And if you want to make it past your first gym battle, that's how _you_ will do it."

Mark looked down at Dale's pokéball. "But he's only hurt because I hurt him. Doesn't that make him my responsibility?"

"Only until he's well enough to survive on his own. Then you need to release him."

Mark silently pondered on that. Red calmly regarded him as Giovanni watched him, judging his reaction.

Finally, Mark spoke. "I'll keep him until he gets better. Then I'll ask him what he wants to do. A pokémon can be trained to adapt to punishment, right?"

Giovanni blinked, then chuckled. "Indeed. Well said, Mark Richardson. A pokémon is also a failure as a fighter if it doesn't want to fight in the first place."

"But there is more to pokémon than battling."

"That, my young friend, is a debate for another day I think." Giovanni stood while Mark inwardly beamed at being called Giovanni's friend. "Unfortunately, since my opinion has been made and you are not here to issue a challenge, I must bid you farewell. I have a busy schedule today that can't be put off."

"Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Giovanni."

"No problem at all. If I may offer one final parting bit of advice, however..."

They stopped at the double doors. Mark turned to look at him. "Yes?"

"The Pokemon School in town can offer more knowledge on what you want to learn. I suggest swinging by there and signing up for a day or two to expand your horizons a bit." Giovanni pointed up the road. "Down that way is Route 22. It is home to a few pokémon you won't find between here and Pallet Town or Viridian Forest, and is also where I caught my first pokémon. Practice what the School teaches you there, and may you learn from those woods as I did."

"Thanks again." Mark motioned for Red to move past him and followed his partner down the path with a lighter step than he'd had when he arrived. Giovanni watched the boy until he was off the property, then closed and locked the door behind him.


	5. Route 22: Let's Try This Again

Mark followed Giovanni's advice and made plans to visit the school the next morning. For the night he moved to the western outskirts of Viridian City and set up a tiny camp just off the road. Dale was walking easier by the time everyone was ready to settle down for bed, but gave Mark a scowl as Mark put him back into his pokéball. Mark looked at it a moment before stowing it on his belt, thinking about what Giovanni had said. He lay back on his sleeping bag as Red snuggled up under his arm and fell asleep watching the stars.

In the morning Mark went back into town and used the last of his money to buy a new backpack and a book about making proper snare traps, as well as a ten-pound-bag of tauros jerky and more apples. He asked the store clerk, a cheerful blonde girl about his age, for directions to the school. She was very helpful, and quickly grabbed a Sharpie to draw a rough map of town on a paper bag and mark the school with a large black circle. It was just north of the pokémon center, so Mark was able to find it with little trouble. The school offered four two-hour classes spread out across an eight-hour day, for a modest price per class. Mark spent the late morning sitting in a desk with pen and paper while Red dozed under his chair, dutifully taking notes on status ailments and type advantages. There were a few other trainers in the class who asked questions on fairy types (discovered after a fighting-type trainer insisted the clefairy line took Focus Punches too well to be considered normal types). Mark copied those down as well, along with the instructors answers. There were opportunities for mock battles, but Mark bowed out of them. He still didn't trust his ability to show restraint, and wasn't sure he completely agreed with Giovanni's opinions on the matter.

Once the class ended, he headed back towards Route 22, flipping through his pokédex as he and Red walked. There were several pokémon that could be found in the patch of woods on Route 22, according to his pokédex, but there were warning labels next to a few of them indicating highly dangerous ones to attempt capturing. Spotting a familiar pair of names, Mark paused on the path to pull up the desired information, then set the pokédex to speech mode so he could listen as he walked.

"Nidorino and nidorina," a feminine-voice spoke, "both are the evolved forms of nidoran. Male nidoran evolve into nidorino while female nidoran evolve into nidorina. In the wild, nidorino and nidorina are rarely seen outside of the mating season and only venture into the open to feed or fine mates. They mate for life and typically lay two or three eggs, which hatch before the end of spring. Be cautious when encountering such a family group, for while nidorina are normally docile and timid, nidorino are highly aggressive and will attack perceived enemies on sight. When protecting family, the father will charge down their opponents with their venomous horns while the mother will guard the young. Both, however, can be powerful fighters and are capable of using their powerful legs and venom with lethal results. Travelers are advised to steer clear of all nidoran forms during the spring."

By the time the device was done talking, Mark was staring down a narrow path that went across the field next to the road. It looked to be a small pokémon trail, probably made by a foraging raticate or mankey troop. Mark looked down it for a moment, then addressed Red. "What do you think?"

Red scratched at his neck with his hind leg, clearly uninterested. Mark shrugged and began walking down the trail. After he was done scratching, Red followed him. The trail was narrow, but the grasses lining it were tall and dense, broken only by scattered trees towards the north that grew closer together until they met the Viridian Forest. They walked in silence for almost half an hour before Mark decided to stop to set up his camp. He left the path and began stomping down grass to make a clearing. Afterward Red was happily munching on an apple while Mark reclined in his tent with his head propped on his pillow as he continued to browse his pokédex Mark was determined to catch another pokémon, and to do so the right way this time.

According to his pokédex, there were five families of pokémon found on Route 22; pidgey, rattata, nidoran, spearow, and mankey. Their habitats spanned the fields to the west of Viridian City, stopping at Viridian Forest and Victory Road. The pokédex made it a point to warn novice trainers against seeking msnkey as well, as the younger evolutions were often protected by their powerful parents. Mark felt that he was the book definition of a novice trainer, and decided against trying his luck with them. He already had a rattata, he declined the pidgey he found on Route 1.

Which left the spearow. Spearow were faster and stronger than pidgey, but meaner. They had hooked beaks, large talons, and were known to defend their territories just as fiercely as the local mankey. But spearow were loners, only flocking in times of danger and rarely guarded by a dominant fearow. They were fast, strong, and independent. Taming a spearow would be a suitable check of Mark's skills as a trainer. Finally decided, Mark sat up and shut off his pokédex. He whistled for Red and stepped out into the afternoon sunlight. As Red trotted over to him, Mark unclipped Dale's pokéball from his belt and called the rattata out.

"_Tatta.__"_

Red offered Dale a greeting. Dale ignored him. Mark knelt down and locked eyes with Dale, grabbing his attention. "I need you to stay here and watch the camp. As payment, you can have an apple. You can sit, eat, and relax until we get back. Can you do that for me?"

Dale had very little intention of guarding anything of Mark's, and in fact was toying with the idea of shredding everything the minute Mark and Red were out of eyesight and running off. But Dale did not know the way back to his field, and could smell other rattata on the breeze that would not take kindly to his intrusion into their turf. Dale had nowhere to go, and no guarantee he could escape Mark. So the rattata gave an affirmative warble and went to go find the offered apple. Satisfied, Mark motioned for Red to follow him and left Dale to his meal.

Mark decided against following the trail and crossed over it into the field beyond. The grass nearly went up to his navel, and was almost as tall as Red. After a few minute, Red started reaching up at Mark, so Mark bent down and motioned for the charmander to crawl on his back. They continued thusly, with Red piggybacking on Mark as Mark marched determinedly towards a lone dead tree on the horizon. It took them an hour of walking to reach it. And sure enough, Mark could make out a small spearow grooming itself in the upper branches.

The pokédex had told Mark spearow had tempers. Getting it out of the tree would be easy. "Red, you see that flying type?"

"_Char."_

"When I lift you up, use Ember."

Red nodded and hopped down into the grass. Mark knelt down and whispered further orders to him, then lifted the charmander by his armpits up over Mark's head. Red paused for a moment, gauging distance and taking aim. Then, he inhaled and fired.

A bright red fireball sailed fifty feet through the air and smacked into the spearow, knocking it from its perch. The spearow cried out and flapped its wings as it fell, but Red was already moving for it. The second Mark let him down Red had dropped on all fours and was running straight towards the tree. He jumped up in a Dragon Dance to get a line of sight on the spearow, then fired another Ember attack at it. This one hit as well, and the spearow hit the grass.

"Scratch!"

Red Dragon Danced over the grass to find his target and Danced a third time into a flying Scratch attack. But trainer and pokémon had both underestimated the spearow. While Red was Dancing, the spearow had gotten to its feet, and upon sighting Red flapped its wings and launched a Whirlwind at the charmander. It caught Red and launched him back towards the tree. The spearow hopped up into the Whirlwind before it faded and used the updraft to take flight towards Red. It neatly dodged Red's retaliating Ember and knocked him square into the trunk with Quick Attack.

"Red!"

The spearow turned to Mark and screeched at him. "_Speeer!" _Red seized his chance and Scratched it in the back of the head. The spearow turned around and Pecked him twice in the face. Red shoved the flying type away from him and Growled. The spearow hopped back but did not flee. Both pokémon eyed each other, waiting for the next move.

It came from behind. Mark's thrown pokéball landed next to the spearow and popped open. A red beam pierced the spearow's chest and it faded into the ball. The pokéball snapped shut and began blinking. Mark watched it tensely, silently praying for a clean catch.

But it was no use. The ball popped open as the spearow broke free. Before Mark or Red could react, it summoned another Whirlwind, blowing Red away from the tree and knocking Mark on his butt. And with a final shriek of protest, the spearow flapped across the grass and flew up into the sky, out of reach of them both.

Mark sat in the grass and watched it until it was out of eyesight. Red got to his feet and made his way back to Mark, bruised but uninjured. Mark rubbed his head. "It's okay. You did good. We'll get the next one."

"Well that's reassuring."

The voice came from their lefts. Mark and Red looked over and were surprised to find Rachel grinning at them, holding Blue the squirtle in her arms. And on top of her head, Mark jealously noticed, was perched a pidgey.

"Hey, guys."

Red waved at Blue. Blue waved back. Mark stood up. "Hello, Rachel. I thought you'd be in Pewter City by now."

"I figured I'd swing by the Pokémon League office and see if I could learn something I didn't already know." The pidgey flapped down to the ground. Red walked toward it, curious as always. The pidgey chirped a welcome as Red approached it. Rachel sighed in relief and rolled her shoulders. "Thank you, Skylar. You were starting to get heavy."

Mark crossed his arms and stared at her. "So?"

Rachel blinked. "So?"

"You ditched me."

Rachel shook her head again. "Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not," Rachel replied. "I said I'd meet you up later. I figured I'd catch up to you in Viridian Forest after I caught a mankey for you out here."

Mark called Red. "I don't need your help."

"You sure?" Rachel put Blue down with Skylar the pidgey. "Have you caught a pokémon yet?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Rachel looked around. "What did you get? I don't see it."

"I caught a rattata." Mark jerked his thumb behind him. "He's watching our camp site."

Rachel looked at him. "A rattata."

"Mhm."

Rachel sighed. "Then yes, Mark, you do need my help."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Mark picked Red up and turned to leave. "I'll see you later, then."

"Okay, look." Rachel ran in front of him to block Mark's path. "I apologize for leaving you in Pallet Town."

Mark tried to go around her, but Rachel stood her ground. "Come on. Think about it. I said we'd travel together. Have I ever lied to you?"

Mark glared at her for a minute. Rachel glared back. Finally, Mark relented. "No, you haven't."

"Let me come back to camp with you," Rachel suggested. "I'll share my food, our pokémon can rest and socialize, and we can talk about where we're going next. Then you can decide if you want my help or not. Alright?"

Mark nodded. Rachel got out two pokéballs and called Blue and Skylar into them. Then they went back to Mark's campsite together.


End file.
